Monday, July 05, 2010

Santa Rosa Turtle Patrol - 7/5/10

I did a substitute sea turtle patrol this morning at Santa Rosa for a young lady on her honeymoon. Good timing for her, I say! I had to hold off a while due to lightning, but around 5:30 a.m. it cleared enough for me to start out.


Sometimes, shortly after dawn on a partly-cloudy day, the whole beach looks bathed in pink when a brilliant red sunrise reflects on the clouds and then back down to the sand. It's amazing to see.


It wasn't long before the rain set in again. The old Mule at Santa Rosa bit the dust and was replaced by an equally old, but less decrepit Mule a couple of days ago. The replacement Mule has a windshield which most of our vehicles do not. Windshields have their good and bad points: Good in that it partially protects you from a driving rain and bad in that your visibility can be drastically reduced in such heavy rain.


The Gulf turned dark green as a downpour swept across the island. It was the heaviest rain I've ever patrolled in.


You'll have to click on the photo above to enlarge it in order to really appreciate the conditions this morning.

Visibility....hmmmm .... one percent, perhaps? ;-)

1 comment:

Shellbelle said...

That rain? Girl, that's dedication! Love the pink beach, I've seen it a few times, but never captured it with my camera. Those early mornings when I would hit the beach just before dawn…my favorite time. The sun breaks through and your only companions are the shorebirds. Well, at least for a short time, before the fishermen and other shellers join you.